Second Chances
by diet-cherry-coke
Summary: Can the Animorphs survive the Titanic? Chapter 14 up...*Finally! I updated!*
1. Cassie's Decision

First of all, this is an idea I had a long time ago. I hope this doesn't offend anyone. It's not meant to…this is my first serious fan fiction…  
  
No flames, pleaz! =) Rated PG…I dunno why, it just seems like this wouldn't be a G rating…oh well! Usual disclaimers apply. Enjoy!  
  
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Second Chances  
  
  
  
Chapter 1: CASSIE:  
  
They rammed the Blade Ship. It was all over the news. I listened to the TV.  
  
"We have just been informed, ladies and gentlemen, of a very tragic situation. The Animorphs, who have given so much for the Earth, have given one more thing: Their lives. They have rammed the Blade Ship of the remaining Yeerks that do not want peace. Marco, Tobias, and Jeanne, a new recruit, are conformed dead. The bodies of Jake and…"  
  
I turned off the TV. Jake was dead. They were all dead. Life was hopeless. I snapped myself out of it. The animals needed to be taken care of. But I could still feel the tears in my eyes.  
  
  
  
I can take it all back a voice whispered, somewhere. I couldn't hear the voice. Suddenly, time stood still.  
  
I sighed. It was funny, in a way. Anyone else would have probably screamed and would be pee-in-their-pants scared. I was used to it by now.  
  
"Ellimist?"  
  
He laughed, or what sounded like a laugh. You can never really tell with aliens these days.  
  
Cassie, you know me too well.  
  
"What's that you said? You can take it all back? What?"  
  
Their deaths, Cassie. All of their deaths  
  
"You can bring them back to life? How?"  
  
I was excited now. I wanted nothing more than to see Rachel and Marco and Tobias and Ax and…Jake.  
  
Yes. With a catch.  
  
I sighed.  
  
"What catch?"  
  
I cannot simply raise them from the dead, Cassie of the Animorphs. Their deaths must be prevented. The Yeerks killed them. So the Yeerks need to be stopped before their invasion.  
  
"How would we do that?" I asked, surprised.  
  
I would send you to the place where the Yeerks first spread. You would be accompanied by the others. You will be presented with the opportunity to destroy the Yeerks.  
  
"Is it really that simple?"  
  
Nothing is as it seems, Cassie. You are right. It is not that simple. Crayak wanted to put a challenge before you. That was the agreement between us. If you lived through your challenge, you would get the chance to stop the Yeerks, before they ever start and save your friends. If you die…you die. End of story. No chance to save your friends. You would be dead. What do you say?  
  
Save my friends? For that, I would do anything.  
  
"Shoot, ok. I'll do it."  
  
And suddenly, I wasn't in my room anymore.  
  
  
  
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Well, that's the first chapter. So far I have five chapters written out. Please review! =) 


	2. Reunions and Surprises

Hehehe…chapter 2! Usual disclaimers apply.  
  
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Chapter 2: RACHEL:  
  
I felt like I had just woke up, was hyped up on caffeine, it was Friday and I just found out school was cancelled for the day. I mean, I was really happy. I was alive. I WAS REALLY ALIVE!  
  
But…I couldn't be…I had died…  
  
"Cassie? Is it just me, or am I ALIVE??"  
  
Cassie looked kinda nervous herself, but threw her arms around me and hugged me. "Rachel!" Then she turned to the others. "Jake! Marco! Ax! Tobias!" She hugged us all. Marco said, "Cassie, why was I on a ship that was about to ram another ship full of Yeerks one minute and standing here next to you, who we left behind on Earth, and Xena: Warrior Princess here, who's been dead for 3 years?"  
  
Wait…3 years? It'd been 3 years?  
  
Ax and Tobias were both in human morph. It confused them both.  
  
Tobias looked around. "Hey, why am I human?" He paused. "Why am I even alive?"  
  
Excitement turned into bewilderment. And, believe me, I was totally bewildered.  
  
Cassie explained, "Well, the Ellimist…"  
  
  
  
And then, for what seemed like forever, she told us. Ellimist. Figures. He never, ever interferes with the lives of other species, but he brings people back from the dead. Not that I'm complaining or anything.  
  
"So Crayak wants us to be challenged? By what? I'm not sure if I understand all of this, Cassie," said Jake.  
  
"I'm not sure I do either-" started Cassie, but Marco interrupted,  
  
"Had anyone ever decided to take a look at where we are?"  
  
No one had, actually. So we looked around. Tobias said, "Guys…we're on a ship, it looks like." He moaned. "Great. Now I don't have wings. And I'm on a ship. I can already see all the seagulls that'll swarm this place…"  
  
"What's the name of the ship?" Jake said. He was in leader mode. He looked worried.  
  
"Well, we should ask someone, don't ya think?" Marco, of course.  
  
I, for one, just wanted to know what year we were in. 'Cause it didn't look like OUR year. For one, the people around us. They were dressed like they just came back from a costume party, like a "Blast from the past" type party. For the first time, I noticed they were staring at us.  
  
"Guys, we should go somewhere a little more private," said Tobias. He must of noticed the same thing.  
  
"Good idea," said Jake.  
  
"If you want something done, just ask!" I said. I was suddenly in a bad mood. I hated being confused. And I was very confused.  
  
"Rachel, we can't just go up to someone-"  
  
"Excuse me, mister," I said to the first gentleman I saw, "What year are we in?"  
  
"Madam," he responded, "This part of the ship is only reserved for first class. Steerage is on another part of the ship."  
  
"Steerage? What steerage?"  
  
The gentleman walked away from me without bothering to answer my question.  
  
  
  
Marco had gone to another part of the boat. He raced toward us. "I found out the name of the ship, not to mention what year we're in,"  
  
"Well?" Jake said.  
  
"We're in the year 1912, and our ship's name is the TITANIC."  
  
None of us spoke for several minutes. We were horrified. And this definitely was not our time. I was kinda used to that, though. I mean, time travel and such. "This is the challenge Cryak wanted to put us through. He wanted to see if we escaped the TITANIC alive," Cassie murmured.  
  
"If we escape the TITIANIC, then what?" asked Tobias.  
  
"We attempt to stop the Yeerks before they ever invaded Earth." Cassie said.  
  
"Well, what's today?" asked Marco.  
  
I asked a gentleman. This one wasn't as rude as the last one was.  
  
"April 10th, 1912. That's what that guy said."  
  
"When does the TITANIC sink?" Marco again.  
  
"Marco, you should really wake up in history class," I said dryly. "The TITANIC sinks on April 14th, 1912. In four days."  
  
"Should we try to warn people?" asked Cassie.  
  
"Nobody would believe us, anyway," Marco said.  
  
"Where do we sleep?" Jake muttered suddenly. "Didn't the TITANIC have staterooms or something like that?"  
  
"Yeah." Tobias suddenly spoke up. "There was 1st class, which were the more important people who wanted to sail on the first 'unsinkable' ship. 2nd class, who were mostly families on vacation. And finally, 3rd class, who mostly were immigrants. They were the least important on the ship. They had to share staterooms. And, might I mention, bathrooms. They only had 2 bathtubs in the entire 3rd class."  
  
We stared at him. And gawked.  
  
"Sorry," Tobias said sheepishly.  
  
"Hey, then how do we know which class we're in? Do we get to choose? I asked.  
  
"We don't get to choose," Cassie said. "Look in your back pocket. I have a ticket." She murmured, "It's in 2nd class,"  
  
"At least it's not third," I said. "Crayak must've supplied our tickets for us. How nice of him,"  
  
I checked my back pocket. A ticket. I whispered a quick prayer: Oh dear God, let me please, please, be in any class other than third.  
  
I pulled out the ticket.  
  
I was in first class. 


	3. Jake's Really Short Chapter

Usual disclaimers apply  
  
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Chapter 3:JAKE  
  
Rachel was in first class. She was all but calm. She jumped up and down, started screaming, and she was laughing hysterically. I didn't see what was so important about being in 1st. It was only for 3 nights, anyway. The fourth night would be spent in lifeboats.  
  
I knew of Crayak's hatred for me. See, I was the one who stopped the howlers and saved the Iskroot, 2 major losses for Crayak. Crayak likes Rachel. He thinks of her as a violent killing machine. That's why she probably got first class. And that's probably why I got third. But really, I didn't care.  
  
Tobias and Rachel got first class. Marco and Cassie were in second. Ax and I were in third.  
  
Ax and I went into our stateroom.  
  
"Primitive humans. Primitive. Prim. i. tive. Prim. Pr. Pr. Prprprprpr-  
  
"Ax, are you gonna do that the whole time we're here?"  
  
"No, Prince Jake. I was merely playing with the sound. But I will stop now. Stop. St. Op.  
  
I sighed. I was lucky enough to share a stateroom with Ax, so I wouldn't have to explain why I appeared out of nowhere. But I had forgotten something- every two hours, Ax would have to demorph. That would mean he would have to sleep as himself. I guess we would just have to put a 'do not disturb' sign on the door or something. And then hope people would not disturb.  
  
The third class staterooms were pretty much…not cool. They were way too small. I sighed.  
  
I still wasn't clear on the mission. Cassie was approached by Ellimist. He gave her the chance to destroy the Yeerks before they got big with their invasion. But we had to overcome a challenge. So, what? He sent us to the Titanic to…what? What was our challenge on the TITANIC? I guess it was to just survive. Cryak sent us our tickets, I guess. If it would have been Ellimist, we would all be in first class. Better yet, we wouldn't be here at all. And after we survived, or whatever, when would we get the chance to stop the Yeerk invasion? I just wasn't sure.  
  
I laid back in my little bed in my stateroom. At least I had found my stateroom ok. But still..,. 


	4. Ax learns about big ships

Note: I noticed I left Ax out a lot in the first and second chapters, sowwy about that! This chapter might be a bit confusing. Nwayz, enjoy (  
  
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Chapter 4: AX  
  
  
  
I was happy to be back. I had been made a controller. The second controller of my kind. I was pretty disturbed about that. The Yeerk called himself, The One. He acquired morphs, and was somehow able to mix them. He dug into my memories. He opened them like a book.  
  
I was thrilled when Prince Jake and the others arrived. I thought they might save me. But then the Yeerk knew that Prince Jake and the others were aboard the ship. He had read my thought.  
  
Jake and the others? Interesting.  
  
No, Yeerk filth. It can't be Prince Jake. He doesn't even know that-  
  
Do you think me stupid, Axmilli? He is aboard. You are sure of it. I know your mind!  
  
It was the most horrible experience I had ever gone through. Prince Jake rammed the Blade Ship. I had died. But the Yeerk had also died with me. And now here I was, and the Yeerk was dead. I smirked at the thought. The Yeerk, Radrao123 of the Elde-Rerrme pool, thought he had one. But he hadn't. I triumphed in the end.  
  
But now, I did not understand about our challenge. What was so challenging about this vessel? We could just morph. Birds, perhaps. Or dolphins. Either one would work. This was too easy. Crayak must have something else in mind.  
  
My home world did not have large oceans like this. There was no need for these huge vessels the humans call 'ships'.  
  
I had no knowledge of human history of the TITANIC. So, of course, I was not prepared for the type of scoop we were in. This particular one was not a 'house', as humans call their scoops. It was a much smaller scoop. I asked Prince Jake if our scoop was smaller than it was supposed to be.  
  
"Ax, don't call me prince. First of all, we're third class. We are the least important people on the ship. Second, this isn't a scoop. It's called a stateroom. If you call it a scoop, people will think you're crazy. Of course, they'll think you're crazy anyway, 'cause of your habit of playing with sounds…"  
  
"Prince Jake, I think I will demorph now."  
  
I demorphed. I didn't want any human to see me. Jake put what he called a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door. It is supposed to warn humans to stay away. I was relieved when he did that. I didn't want to cause a scene. Prince Jake laid down in his bed. He looked like he wanted to sleep.  
  
Prince Jake, I have no knowledge of the TITANIC. What happened?  
  
Prince Jake sat up. "The TITANIC was supposed to be a great ship. One of the greatest. It was unsinkable. But it sank. It hit an iceberg and sank around 2:30ish, I guess. I really don't know to much about it. Tobias seems to, though. Ask him tomorrow."  
  
How many perish?  
  
"Ax, I don't know. Go to sleep. I'm tired," He said.  
  
I was tired also. So I feel asleep quite quickly. 


	5. Seasick and Girls

Chapter 5:MARCO  
  
Second class wasn't bad, compared to third. Poor Jake. He and Ax must be having a hard time sleeping on those cots. I wondered if Ax was even sleeping on a cot.  
  
I couldn't sleep. I was really, really seasick. Really. As in, I'm-gonna- puke-all-over-you-if-you-don't-let-me-to-the-bathroom seasick.  
  
I was walking outside. I was seriously bored, and if I went to sleep, I was sure to puke all over myself.  
  
I bumped into this girl with long brown hair and blue eyes. I kept walking. She turned around. She seemed to stare into my eyes.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Well what?"  
  
"Isn't this the part where a true gentleman was to say, 'Excuse me?' "  
  
"Um, a true gentleman? I'm not a gentleman."  
  
I didn't know people were so formal. I would never be able to live in this time period.  
  
"Well, I'm not very polite either," She smiled. Then she said,"I'm in second class. I like to pretend that I am fine enough to be in first." She grinned. "This ship is like heaven. I wish to never leave it,"  
  
"Well, sorry to bust your bubble, but this ship is gonna sink," I said. It just slipped out. I hadn't meant to tell anyone, because I didn't want to change history. But like she was gonna believe me?  
  
"Now, don't be silly. This ship is unsinkable." She paused. "What's your name?"  
  
"Marco,"  
  
She grinned. "That's quite an unusual name, Marco. My name is Kristen,"  
  
"Well, howdy, Kristen. How old are you?"  
  
"I'll be turning 23 next month. My, you have absolutely no manners whatsoever. It isn't polite to ask a lady that,"  
  
"But you said you weren't very polite," I protested. "If you don't have to be polite, then neither do I. I'm 24. And I'm in second class, too,"  
  
I said.  
  
"Oh! You are! You must join me for breakfast, then!"  
  
"I don't have to do anything," I replied. "But I will, 'cause I feel like it, and I got nothing better to do on this ship," I said.  
  
Kristen. I wondered if she survived the TITANIC. It was funny, almost.  
  
I was having breakfast tomorrow with a girl who's old enough to be my great- grandmother…  
  
  
  
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This is all I've written for now. Pleaz review( Well, next chapter coming soon! 


	6. Problems, with Kisses

Wanted to get something straight…I goofed, Marco isn't 24, I thought he was older, but he wasn't. Marco is now officially 19, along with the rest of the Animorphs and Kristen's turning 18 next month. Hehe. K, now that's outta the way, enjoy!  
  
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Chapter six  
  
TOBAIS:  
  
  
  
First class. That meant very nice treatment. People in 1912 paid thousands of dollars to get this treatment. And in our days, thousands back then meant…well, you do the math.  
  
This was the first time since Rachel's death I had been truly happy. I mean, now the whole gang was back and most importantly, Rachel was alive. And we were both in the same class. That meant we could see each other. Jake and Cassie, who were on different floors, wouldn't be able to see each other without morphing because of the locked gates. On the night of the sinking, the third class gates would still be locked, simply because Captain Smith didn't give the order to unlock them.  
  
I had gotten to my stateroom with ease. Rachel, it turned out, was only 4 doors down. I demorphed to hawk, and then remorphed to human. I was gonna have a lot of trouble, demorphing and remorphing. But right now, I was remorphing to see Rachel. I wanted to see her. I had missed her for 3 years, and suddenly I was going to get to see her.  
  
I left my room and went over to Rachel's. I knocked on her door. She looked through the peephole and then let me in.  
  
"Hey Rachel," I managed to say. She was really alive. I wasn't dreaming. I wasn't having another nightmare, where Rachel comes back alive and suddenly disappears.  
  
"Hey Tobias!" Rachel said. "Aren't the rooms great?"  
  
"Yeah, they are," I said.  
  
"So, what happens on the TITIANIC?" she said, all serious now. "I mean, I know we're going to sink, but-"  
  
"Alright. Details. Let's see…the TITIANIC has first class, second class, and third. . Third class had to share a room, like our Ax-man and Jake are. Second and first get their own rooms."  
  
"What happens on sinking night?"  
  
"When the iceberg hits us, the crew will try to keep it a secret, for fear of panic. Captain Smith and Ship designer Thomas Andrews will go over the plans for the ship. They will quickly discover the ship won't stay afloat, because too many watertight compartments were flooded. Also, not enough lifeboats for 2200 people."  
  
"How many lifeboats?" she asked.  
  
"I don't remember," I said. "However, only 706 people survived."  
  
We were silent for a while. Then, she asked, "Tobias…how do we get out of this?"  
  
"We could morph. No birds, though. Too cold for our morphs. Dolphins, maybe,"  
  
"Where would we morph them?"  
  
"In the water- oh," I muttered. I suddenly realized that even though dolphins belonged in the water, we couldn't possibly take the time to morph them. The water was just too cold that night.  
  
"The water would be way to cold for us to concentrate, so how about-"  
  
"Tobias," she said quietly, interrupting my train of thought. "This could possibly be the very last mission for us. I mean, I'm not even supposed to be on this mission because I died a long time ago. Three years, Tobias."  
  
She looked up at me. I said, "Rachel, this isn't even our time. And I died too, so I'm not supposed to be here either. But I'm not thinking about it. I just want to enjoy our time that we have right now…"  
  
"Whaddya mean you died?"  
  
"I died killing yeerks, just like you…on bored the RACHEL." I said, realizing she didn't even know that Jake, Marco, and I had all died. It was a little unsettling, explaining how I died. I mean, that's not something you talk about a lot.  
  
We talked a little longer, and suddenly she asked, "Tobias, when you said 'I love you', did you-"  
  
"I meant it, Rachel. I really meant it."  
  
And then we kissed, unaware of anything else.  
  
  
  
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Sap, Sap, Sap! Lol, don't you love it? I know they were a little out of character, but hey, my story. ( Anywayz… 


	7. Cassie's idea

Chapter seven  
  
  
  
Cassie:  
  
The next morning, it was pretty much chaos. Here I was, dreaming about Bug fighters, Dome ships, Yeerks, and everything else under the sun, when I wake up to find I'm on board a ship that crashed 70 something years ago.  
  
It all came rushing back to me. The TITANIC. I didn't know any facts about the ship except that it sank. I was 2nd class. So who else? Marco. I had to find Marco.  
  
I walked up to his stateroom and knocked on the door with no answer. So I walked down toward the breakfast area.  
  
  
  
I guessed this was where the people were supposed to eat breakfast.  
  
  
  
I found Marco, but he was flirting with some girl. I expected her to slap him or something like all the girls usually do, but this one was not.  
  
  
  
Marco looked liked he was actually eating with her and her family, so I decided to eat by myself. It was too bad Jake wasn't in second with me. I would've really enjoyed his company. I felt…alone…with out him. And yet, there was a wall or something between us. Love was over for us. Or was it? I smiled, despite myself. I wondered how Rachel and Tobias were doing.  
  
  
  
Marco spotted me, and he excused himself from the girl and ran over toward me.  
  
"Hey, Cassie, check out the food, and…" he nudged his head toward the girl.  
  
"Marco, she's how old in the year 2002???" I demanded. He could have his fun later. I just wanted to know how we would get off the ship. I didn't know how many people were here, but I knew there weren't enough lifeboats for all. And I wanted to change history as less as possible. Because if I took a lifeboat seat, someone who might actually need it might die. That meant I would wipe out them, their children, their children's children, and so on…  
  
"Morph," Marco said simply.  
  
"Where? And what?"  
  
We pondered this for a few minutes, when he said, "This might be a little harder than I thought it would be, but Cassie, we'll figure out something. It's not until…what? Three days? We'll think of something by then. And with that, he left.  
  
He was right, after all. We really didn't need to think it over right then. Besides, I needed to know more about the TITANIC, and Marco was not helping. I needed to talk to Jake or Tobias. Ax wouldn't know, and I doubt Rachel would either.  
  
So, I decided to have a little fun.  
  
I went out to the poop deck and tried to make conversation. I asked one guy who the president of the United States was, but he said it was kind of hard to answer that, simply because he was from England. This was boring. I wanted to talk to Jake.  
  
  
  
Just then, I saw something else. A lady walking a dog.  
  
  
  
Hmm. A dog on board?  
  
  
  
Turns out, there were lots of dogs on board. In kennels. So I decided to visit the dogs. After all, there was nothing better to do. I went toward the kennels and discovered there were many, many animals on board. Dogs, Cats, Rabbits, Birds…  
  
I wondered if being in 1912 affected morphing. I acquired one of the dog's DNA and began to morph. Hehe. Guess not.  
  
And if morphing worked, then so did thought speak.  
  
I found a way to talk to Jake.  
  
  
  
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Not one of the better chapters, but I was lazy today. Sowwy.  
  
Chapter 8 coming soon! 


	8. Snobs and Discussions

Note: Sowwy about the chapter delay, I have writers block right now…*Kimba whines, then reluctantly gets back to the computer.* Thankz to those who reviewed, I really appreciate it! =) And if this chapter isn't very well written, I blame it on not enough sleep and it being 2:33am when I wrote this. Well, on to chapter 8!  
  
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Chapter 8: RACHEL  
  
It was wonderful. I saw Tobias last night, and it totally rocked. He had filled me in about Cassie and Jake. I couldn't believe it! They 'broke up' over me?!? Well, I wasn't going to let some jerk named Ronnie have Cassie, and I wasn't going to let any type of depression have Jake. They needed each other! Tobias also told me about my so-called 'funeral'. President of the United States? No way! I laughed. We all deserved top- notch treatment, especially after all we'd been through, but it was still way over the top. It was fun, being with Tobias that night. We kissed. We discussed our future. I hadn't realized how much I had missed him until tonight…  
  
Well, that was last night, and this was this morning, and I was really hungry, so I decided to get breakfast. I went to Tobias's room and knocked on the door. "Tobias, I'm getting breakfast, if you want to come with me!"  
  
Nothing. Ugh. "TOBIAS!" Several people opened their stateroom doors and stared at me.  
  
How come all of those people could hear me and not him?  
  
Just then…  
  
Rachel! I'm morphing! Calm down! I hear you and I'm coming!  
  
Oops. I had forgotten about him being a hawk.  
  
I couldn't answer him, so I decided just to go down to breakfast and wait for him.  
  
I entered the room. Woah.  
  
Way, way, way too fancy. But what did I expect? I was in first class.  
  
I sat down at a table and looked at the menu. From across the way, there were sevral other ladies, probably not too much older than myself. They were whispering and looking right at me, and they weren't doing too good of a job whispering, either.  
  
"I think she's a third-class girl who snuck up here," said a blonde.  
  
"No, she's just probably a stowaway. Look at her clothes! Only gentlemen wear slacks!" A brunette with green eyes said.  
  
I realized that I was the only girl in the room without a dress on.  
  
"Surely the other people in here notice her clothes…"said Blondie.  
  
Now I got mad. Someone had to teach these gossips a lesson…  
  
I walked over toward them, when suddenly…  
  
Rachel! It's Cassie. I hope you can hear me. Morph somewhere. I need to talk to you  
  
Oh! Thought speak worked! I had forgotten all about that!  
  
But someone would have to teach those girls a lesson…  
  
Cassie could wait. Those girls are now.  
  
"Hey girls!!" I said as I made my way over toward them.  
  
They froze.  
  
"Would you mind if I sat with you?" I said brightly. "I want to admire your clothes. Can you do anything in them? Or do you just sit there and look pretty? " I flashed my best smile at them.  
  
"Someone needs to teach you manners!" Green Eyes said.  
  
"And someone needs to teach you how to whisper," I replied. And, just for good measure, I leaned in and whispered, "You know, I'm an alien from the future. I can do things to you. These are the clothes we aliens wear."  
  
They listened. I don't think they bought it, though.  
  
I got up and smiled. If other people weren't in the room, just for good measure I would've partly morphed grizzly. Then, they would freak. That would've been something to laugh at, all those girls screaming and attempting to run in those dresses.  
  
"Rachel!"  
  
Tobias had found me. I walked over toward him and smiled.  
  
"You found me," I said.  
  
"What were you doing to those girls?" he said. He tried to sound serious. He had a hint of amusement in his eyes, though. A very human feature. Usually, his eyes and face were emotionless from the hawk.  
  
  
  
"Just teaching some bullies a lesson. Hey, I already ate breakfast. What took you so long to demorph?"  
  
"I wasn't morphing the whole time…I couldn't find you…or the breakfast room," he said. He made special emphasis on the word morphing. He wanted to remind me that he demorphed to hawk, not human like me.  
  
I led him back to my stateroom. "Don't you want to be human? You said when the war was over…"  
  
"I'm just happier as a hawk," he said simply. "No one to bully me around or anything,"  
  
"Happier? You like to kill to eat breakfast every morning? Know that you have a short lifespan?"  
  
He shrugged. "Did Cassie thought speak to you?" He was avoiding the question. I decided to let him avoid it, but made a mental note to myself to return to the question later.  
  
"Yeah, I had forgotten. How did you know?"  
  
" She called out to me, too. Let's morph and talk to Cassie," he said.  
  
"What if people come and see us?"  
  
He grinned and took out a Do Not Disturb sign and put it on the door.  
  
"Wow, that's helpful, Tobias. Do Not Disturb."  
  
"It'll keep nosy maids out," he said. And then he added, "Hopefully,"  
  
I considered my morphs. Not elephant or grizzly. I didn't really want to go insect. I had an eagle morph. That's how I would go. Eagle.  
  
Tobias was demorphing to hawk. I was morphing to eagle.  
  
Cassie? I said. Can you hear us?  
  
Rachel! What took you so long?  
  
She was making new friends, Tobias said with a laugh.  
  
Alright, listen. You have any plans at all for how to get off this ship? I try not to worry about it, but frankly, I am very worried. Said Cassie.  
  
We could morph, but not birds, or dolphins. Rachel and I already talked about the possibilities. What about just getting on a lifeboat? Tobias said.  
  
I thought of that, said Cassie. But to make a very long explanation short, we can't. Do we have any other morphs?  
  
Tobias and you have whales, do you?I asked. It had been forever since they morphed them, but they had whales, I think.  
  
Where would we morph something that big? Not on the ship Tobias argued.  
  
I don't know! I said in frustration. I hadn't realized how big of a problem it was going to be.  
  
The CALIFORNIAN! It's not too far for birds to fly! Tobias suddenly said.  
  
What's a Californian?  
  
The CALIFORNIAN is another ship. While the TITANIC is sinking, the CALIFORNIAN is just 19 miles away from the TITANIC when she sinks! We could fly there as birds without freezing to death!  
  
Oh my Gawd… Cassie said. We can tell the CALIFORNIAN about the TITANIC and save all of these people!  
  
No, we can't, because some of them will have to die in 3 days, Cassie. Tobias argued.  
  
So we're just going to let them all die? Cassie said.  
  
Tobias: It's the way it's supposed to happen!  
  
Cassie: But we can make a difference!  
  
Tobias: We aren't supposed to!  
  
Cassie: You don't want to save these people?  
  
Tobias: It's not about saving them, it's about history!  
  
They went on for a while. I said bye to Cassie. Did you talk to Jake yet? I asked before I demorphed.  
  
No. I've been trying to call him, but he either can't hear me or isn't in a place to morph.  
  
And with that, I demorphed. That little conversation had taken at least an hour. I found it was at least 12:00pm out side. There wasn't much else to do. Tobias was still in hawk morph.  
  
"Tobias, what can a first class lady do today?"  
  
A Turkish Bath. I'm not so sure what that is, but I think you get a massage from the attendant…  
  
Massage? After today, I needed one. I raced down to 'F' Deck for a hopefully long massage.  
  
  
  
************  
  
Hopefully I'll get chapter 9 up soon. I was able to write more because of school being out. *Yippie!!* I really hope I get this chapter up before I go to camp for a week…oh well The computer hasn't been working really good lately.. Chapter 9 up soon! 


	9. Jake and Cassie, at Last

Wow.I've been trying to post this chapter forever, but fanfiction.net was down. Thank God it's back up! ;-) Again, sowwy about the chapter delay. Thankz to those who reviewed! I really appreciate it! K, here's the next chapter! **********************************  
  
CHAPTER 10: JAKE  
  
It was about 12:00pm when I woke up.  
  
"Why didn't someone wake me up or something?" I asked Ax. I did not think you wished to be disturbed, Prince Jake.  
  
"Ax, did we miss breakfast?"  
  
I believe we did, Prince Jake. I, however, was not interested when I learned there were no cinnamon buns or cigarette butts or chocolate there. It is strange how not all human flavors taste alike.  
  
"Yeah, really strange, Ax. I wonder why they're not serving chocolate for breakfast." I said dryly.  
  
Ah. Sarcasm?  
  
"Yeah, sarcasm. I'm hungry, and we missed breakfast." Just then.  
  
Jake! It's me, Cassie! Please, please, answer me!  
  
"Ax, is Cassie calling us?" I asked Ax, thinking she was using private thought speak.  
  
Prince Jake, she called out to you, not to me, he said.  
  
Ah. She called everyone. But. Did I really want to talk to Cassie? Did she really want to talk to me, for that matter? After the way I talked about marriage and getting together after the war, and not doing it, I thought she would be angry with me. Was she calling out to me just to chew me out? It didn't seem like Cassie to do that, though. I really needed to see her in person.  
  
I began to morph.  
  
What are you morphing, Prince Jake?  
  
"I'm morphing to roach. I'm hoping I'll geettttoooo-" At that moment, my mouth disappeared.  
  
I'm hoping I'll get to go to second class and see Cassie.  
  
Should I morph, also?  
  
No, morph to human and stay here. I need to see Cassie by myself.  
  
Ah. I think I understand. Then, as an afterthought, he said, Human emotions. So complicated.  
  
I glared at Ax.  
  
He seemed to get the point and began morphing to his strangely handsome human morph.  
  
I scurried out of the room. Man, this was going to take me forever. I realized right then I should've morphed someplace else.  
  
I somehow made it to the second class area. I had to demorph a couple times, just to make sure I wasn't over the 2 hour limit. Luckly, no one was around when I demorphed in between time periods.  
  
I ran into a room in the second class area and started to demorph. Afterward, I walked out and checked a clock. It was around 3:00pm. It made me wonder how I was going back.  
  
But then, I realized my biggest mistake. I didn't know her room number.  
  
I made my way out to the poop deck and sat down.  
  
Good thing I did, because that's where I spotted Cassie. She looked beautiful. The way the sunlight lighted up her whole face and her hair. The way she walked, which was graceful, like a ballerina.  
  
She approached me and stared. Finally, she mouthed, "JAKE?!?".  
  
I guess I smiled. I'm not sure. What happened next was sort of a blur.  
  
She took my hand and led me down the hallway that led to the other 2nd class passengers' rooms. She opened a door and led me into a room that was probably her stateroom.  
  
It was huge compared to mine. I mean, this was huge. Really big. If any other 3rd class person saw this, they would be in awe for the rest of their lives. It was so lavishly done it made me think about how the first class rooms were. No one  
  
Cassie sat down on her bed, took a good look at me, and finally said, "Jake, I've missed you so much! I'm so glad you came up! Wait.how did you get up here?"  
  
"I morphed. Why were you calling me?"  
  
"I needed to discuss how to get off the ship. Even though I've discussed it with Tobias and Rachel, I needed to talk to you about it,"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Isn't it obvious, Jake? You're our leader. We need you to decide how we'll get off."  
  
"I thought I was finished being leader,"  
  
"Jake, we're all back together again. Just like old times, we need you-" "Not like old times. We grew up. We're older. You guys can make your own choices now."  
  
"Jake, our group needs a leader. We can't not have one. Sure, you made some choices in the old days that almost got us killed. But you also made choices-good choices- and that's what beat the Yeerks. That's what kept us from getting killed. Kept us from going crazy."  
  
"I got Rachel killed."  
  
"It doesn't matter anymore, she's back,"  
  
"But I made the decision. She died because of me," I said bitterly.  
  
"We aren't perfect. We don't live in a perfect world. Warriors, soldiers, fighters, die. You can't expect to enter a war and come out with your hands clean. You're going to make mistakes. It's life."  
  
I nodded. I had been trying to forget about all the pain and suffering that came with my decision to have Rachel kill Tom. Cassie had made me remember. I sighed. I felt the old feelings of regret all over again. But right now wasn't the time to feel sorry for myself.  
  
I pushed away my emotions and looked at Cassie.  
  
"Ok. Ok." I took a deep breath and looked at Cassie. "How do you think we should get off this ship?" "The CALIFORNIAN is the ship nearest to the TITANIC at the time of the sinking. We could morph to birds and fly there."  
  
"Ok. That works. But how do you know where it is?"  
  
"I don't. I guess we'll have to find out." Cassie said. "How would we find out where the CALIFORNIAN is?" "Umm.well, what about the wireless operators? Wouldn't they know the coordinates of the CALIFORNIAN?"  
  
"I guess. So we morph and spy on the Wireless Operators?" "Yep," Cassie agreed. "We'd better tell the others." "Tobias might want to come with us," Cassie said thoughtfully. "He seems to know the most about the TITANIC than any of us do." "Ok. But I thought you said you already talked to Tobias," "He was the one who suggested we fly to the CALIFORNIAN. Maybe he already knows the coordinates." "Good thinking," I told her. "I'd better get back to my stateroom now. Ax is waiting for me," "Stay the night here," Cassie said. "Ax can handle himself." "Are you sure?" "Well.not really.but I mean, c'mon. He's an Andalite. I'm sure he can handle one night by himself." "I don't think he can pass for human," "He can stay one night by himself." "Where would I sleep?" "On the floor. Or sofa. I could lend you some blankets." "Well." I struggled with my decision. Second class was much nicer than third class. Plus, Cassie and I could catch up with each other. "Alright. Let me tell Ax." ********************************  
  
I'm hoping I can get the next chapter done really soon. BTW, just wondering, how do you do Italics and/or bold? I'm just wondering, can you do them on Word? .Anyway, please review? Please? *looks up hopefully* Thankz! Toodles! =) 


	10. Drinking and Alien Mutant Things

Chapter 10: AX  
  
Being an alien on a strange ocean liner can be really depressing. Especially if you are alone.  
  
Ax, it's me, Jake. I'm going to stay at Cassie's tonight.  
  
Ah. Would this be another display of human affection?  
  
Ahem, good night, Ax.  
  
It was only about 4:00pm human hours. Humans, I learned, don't retire for the evening at 4:00pm.  
  
I tried to point this out to Prince Jake, but he did not answer.  
  
That's when I decided to pass for human and eat some human food.  
  
I was morphing to human when a younger human came in.  
  
"Maid Serv-AHHHH!"  
  
She caught me morphing to human. She left in a hurry. I believe I may have frightened her.  
  
Minutes later, I was fully human. And a few minutes after that, she returned. With an older human.  
  
"I'm telling you, Mister Lightoller, that guy is a beast An alien mutant thing!" She stated while pointing her human finger at me. This, I have learned, is something humans like to do often when expressing a point.  
  
"Now, I don't see an alien there! Michelle, get back to work! And don't bother me with such foolish tales! Bringing me all the way down to third class. " he trailed off as he saw me looking in his direction. To me the male human said, "I'm very sorry, Mr.."  
  
"My name is Phillip. Phillup. I am from out of state."  
  
Apparently, I must have the wrong thing. He stared at me. "You must be an American," he said.  
  
"No, I am from Canada. I am Canadese." I said, remembering one particular encounter with Cassie's father. The humans think it is extremely important to stick with one story if you are going to lie. So I stuck with that story.  
  
"Have you been drinking?"  
  
Drinking? I have seen humans drink several things. On some of the human TV, they show several humans drink fluids from a bottle. Have I ever done that? At the mall, I had some fluid called Dr. Pepper. The flavor was explosive! I wondered if they had any Dr. Pepper on the ship. I would have to inquire about this later.  
  
"I have been drinking before, yes."  
  
"Then maybe it's best if you stay in your cabin for the night."  
  
"May I ask why?"  
  
"For your own good. Have a good afternoon.  
  
He and the human female left. And I laid down on the bed. Should I defy that human and leave the stateroom? Or should I simply stay and see what I could do?  
  
I decided to leave the safety of the cabin and venture out into the world around me. After all, he was a human, a human from the past, even, and even less primitive than humans in our correct time. Well, not anymore, I suppose, now that the humans have come in contact with other beings in the galaxy they have probably advanced very far in the last three years.  
  
I left the cabin and started walking around. I met several humans who were not able to comprehend what I was saying, and I was not able to comprehend what they were saying. I learned later they speak different languages in different areas of the planet.  
  
I finally ate at what the humans on the ship called dinner time. It was wonderful, as most human food is, but not my favorite.  
  
Soon I had to go to sleep. I remembered Prince Jake was up in another part of the ship, so I didn't wait for him. I fell asleep.  
  
***************** Sorry this chapter is so short, but this chapter isn't very important in the main storyline. It's just I'm going in order with the chapters: Cassie, Rachel, Jake, Ax, Marco, Tobias. I try to keep it in that order so to not confuse myself ;-) K, I wrote the story, now you review the story! 


	11. Marco's Troubles

Chapter 11: Marco  
  
  
  
The first thing I learned about Kristen was that she was very clumsy. She's not at all graceful, but she's nice, at least. She's not the kind of girl I'd be attracted to. But we could still be friends, maybe. I know that's a cliché statement, but it's the truth.  
  
I ate breakfast with her family yesterday, mainly because there was nobody else to eat breakfast with. Well, there was Cassie, but she seemed to be off in her own little world, so I just hung out with Kristen. I took her back to my room.  
  
She looked around. "You aren't moving to America, are you?" She asked with her English accent. "Nope. I'm just an on vacation to America. I've always wanted to see the place," I lied. See, I figured it would be better if I lied and said I was English and not American, 'cause then she would ask why I was in England, and I didn't feel like coming up with an excuse.  
  
She looked satisfied with the answer.  
  
"You don't seem to own that many things. I mean, your room, it's so empty," "Yeah, I guess it is. But then again, I'm on vacation."  
  
See, I couldn't tell her that the all-powerful creature called the Ellimist spoke to one of my friends who could turn into animals just like I could and brought me back to life after ramming an alien spaceship and dying so he could transport me to the TITANIC which was destined to sink in three days, and if we survived, then we would be able to have a chance to stop the Yeerks before they spread to Earth. See, she'd think I was insane. And she was probably right. I was insane. The whole mission was insane. I mean, who puts people in the past? I though only the Time Matrix was capable of that. But if the Ellimist invented the Time Matrix, then he could probably send people in the past, too. Confusing. Anyway.  
  
She left soon enough, promising to talk to me tomorrow, and the day passed kinda quick after that. I didn't see Cassie the rest of the time. It kinda made me wonder. Where was she?  
  
I found out soon enough today, after I woke up.  
  
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCKKNOCKKNOCK-  
  
"I'm coming! I'm coming! Hold your horses!"  
  
I had just woken up. What was today? Day Three. Day Three of the TITANIC voyage. That meant tonight would be the last peaceful night on the TITANIC. Tomorrow night, we would be screaming and running (or morphing, I guess) for our lives.  
  
So I threw on some old clothes, combed my hair a little bit, and opened the door.  
  
There stood Cassie, with Jake.  
  
"Jake? JAKE?!?" I asked, the truth sinking in. I pulled them both into my cabin and shut the door. "Jake? Aren't you supposed to be in third class? How'd you get up here in second? Especially with the gates?"  
  
"Um, Marco, I morphed."  
  
Oh. Duh. But wait.  
  
"Isn't it a long way to travel as an insect?"  
  
"Yep. I had to demorph a couple of times-"  
  
"Did anyone see you?" I demanded.  
  
"No, at least, I don't think so," he said.  
  
"Geez, Jake, make sure we are aware next time you-"  
  
"Can we get to business here?" Cassie interrupted. "There was a reason we came to see you, you know,"  
  
"Well, by all means, let's get down to business," I said.  
  
Cassie looked at Jake. Jake sort of nodded and began talking.  
  
"Look," Jake said, "To get of the ship, we've got to be careful. This is history, and any little thing we do can mess it up. So that rules out lifeboats. No lifeboats. If we take someone's seat, and that someone was supposed to survive, and they die, that would also kill their children, their children's children, and so on. So no lifeboats. As for morphs, we can't do our whale morphs, there's nowhere on the ship that would support morphs that big, and we couldn't do it in the water. We just wouldn't be able to concentrate to morph in water that cold, which would also rule out any water morphs that we may have."  
  
Jake sighed, and then continued.  
  
"There's a ship by the name of the CALIFORNIAN just 19 miles from here. We could fly there as birds without getting to cold. We would find a decent place to demorph on board. And that would save our butts, and we would be out of there. But just one problem."  
  
"You don't know where the CALIFORNIAN is." I said.  
  
"Right," answered Jake, "We could end up flying in circles. And then we would have to demorph. In the cold, freezing water. So we need to know where that ship is. And the way to do that is through the wireless operators. They would know the coordinates. So we would spy on the wireless operators.  
  
"When?" I wanted to know.  
  
"Whenever the ice warnings come in," Cassie said. "Tobias would know. I'm guessing tomorrow. I do definitely know this: the CALIFORNIAN will send the coordinates to the TITANIC. We've just got to be there when they get them,"  
  
"We will get the coordinates eventually. But Cassie has another issue, and I think it's a good issue to consider." Jake interjected.  
  
"Ok, shoot. What is it, Cassie?"  
  
Cassie spoke. "Well, in the history books, they always talk about the CALIFORNIAN tragedy. About how all the TITANIC passengers could have been saved, if only the CALIFORNIAN could be aware of the situation. So we could avoid a tragedy. We could save all of these lives! We could save at least almost all the people. All of these people's lives are in our hands."  
  
I shuddered at the thought. The entire world had been in our hands before, and look where it got us. Jake depressed. Rachel dead. Tobias a loner. Cassie, Ax and myself were the only real survivors of this war. And we were forever changed.  
  
"Marco? Tobias is against this. I'm not trying to create a breakup or a fight in the group, but Jake and I talked about it, and we're both for it. Tobias is against it. What do you want to do?"  
  
I automatically knew my answer.  
  
"I'm with Tobias, guys. Do you know how this would change history? How this would change the world if the ship didn't sink? If it got safely to New York like it's supposed to, well.we all know this ship has a major flaw. Guys, you save the ship now, when it only has 1,200 people, you could cause an even bigger disaster. The TITANIC would get to New York, and just maybe, carry more people back to where ever they would go. Say they carry 1,200 on the way over, and if they get across, carry 2,000 people back. Say they hit the iceberg or whatever then, on the way back. And you'd have more causalities then ever," I finished my speech. I looked toward my friends.  
  
They looked at me dumbfounded. They had never thought of that.  
  
But then, Jake smirked. "Marco, you're theory is all washed up. The ship will sink. The ship will definitely sink. All I'm asking is if we could get the survivors on the CALIFORNIAN. What harm could it do?"  
  
"I can't think of any off the bat, but Jake, you're the leader. You have to make the right choice. I'm giving you this advice: No. Don't do it. Don't make the CALIFORNIAN aware. These people are supposed to die, no matter what."  
  
Jake shook his head. Cassie said, "Marco, if someone you loved was on board, and you knew that person was supposed to die, would you save them?"  
  
I shook my head. "No. It's history. And in history, people die. No one lives forever, Cassie."  
  
She shrugged. "Oh well. I had hoped you'd be with us," she said.  
  
"Don't count on Rachel being with you, either," I said.  
  
They shrugged their shoulders and left.  
  
"Jake! Bring Ax up here, too, if you're going to stay up in third class!"  
  
"Nah, Marco, I'm going back down to third class. The maids will clean Cassie's room, and it will be obvious that someone else is in there. So I'll go back. See you later," he said. He and Cassie left.  
  
I didn't want to think anymore. I would leave that to the others. I just wanted to relax.  
  
On cue, someone knocked at my door. "Marco!" said the voice of Kristen. "Open up!"  
  
I sighed. Actually, I was kind of glad she came. I wanted to get away from Animorph missions for now and do something normal. Like talk to someone who thinks aliens aren't out there.  
  
"Hey Kristen. What's up? I mean, what are you doing?" "You promised me breakfast today, and it's time!" She laughed. Did I? Oh yeah. I did. "Oh, ok. Do you want to come in?"  
  
She smiled. "Sure. Why not?" She came inside.  
  
She sat down on my bed. She suddenly looked up at me and said, "You know something Marco? You don't have too many things with you. You say such strange things, like the TITANIC sinking, which won't, since it's unsinkable. It's like you've just dropped in one day on this ship," she said thoughtfully.  
  
Smart girl, I thought, but you don't know the half of it.  
  
Instead I forced out a laugh and said, "Come on. Breakfast is waiting."  
  
"Alright," she said. She still was in deep thought. Like she was trying to figure out something. But she got up and followed me to breakfast.  
  
"Yuck," I said. "This food is nasty!"  
  
"Do all of you Americans hate food like this?" Kristen wanted to know.  
  
"Nah. Just us spoiled Americans." I joked. But Kristen wasn't laughing. I looked up at her.  
  
"You told me you were on vacation to America as you've never seen the place, yet you claim to be American," she said softly. Then, she looked at me forcefully.  
  
I knew I was in trouble right then. You see, I had said I was English, or something. Usually I wouldn't screw up my own lie, but my guard had been let down.  
  
"I know this isn't ladylike, but gentlemen aren't supposed to lie to ladies, so I'll skip the manners and politeness. Who are you, exactly? And why did you lie to me?"  
  
****************** I hope this wasn't too confusing. See, I'm winding down the fanfic. I'm going to finish it and start on some new ideas. So the end is near! *wink* ;-) C ya and let me know what ya think! 


	12. Titanic Mission Pointless?

Heylo! I just wanted to thank everyone who reviewed my story, I read them all and looked at advice and everything, and I wanted to say thank you. So thanks. ;-)  
  
***BTW,I reread Chapter 4 , and now I realize I was on something when I wrote that really screwed up chapter. We all know Ax wasn't invested by a Yeerk who liked to call himself The One, but was absorbed by a creature called The One. So to whoever found that confusing, I don't blame you. I find it confusing, and I wrote the stupid thing! Anyway, I thought I should clear that up. ***  
  
On with the story.  
  
************************************************  
  
CHAPTER 12: Tobias  
  
So, Marco, how'd you get out of that mess?  
  
It was April 12th. 1912. Day three of our lovely little Love Boat cruise. Jake, Rachel, Marco, Cassie, Ax and I were all roaches. Not one of our favorite morphs, but definitely one of our most useful. We were on the door of the receiving wireless room, spying on the Wireless Operators , trying to figure out where the CALIFORNIAN was. See, very few people know that the wireless needed two rooms on board the TITANIC: one for transmitting and one for receiving. The reasoning behind that was so the static or buzzing sounds from the transmitter wouldn't interfere with the receiver. Weird. But anyway.It was kind of late, so while we were waiting for the call, we were making conversation.  
  
Originally, it was only supposed to be Jake, Cassie and I who were to go spy on these guys. But Cassie and I wouldn't go without Rachel, Jake wouldn't go without Marco, and Ax wasn't trusted by his self anymore after we heard a rumor that a maid on the TITANIC was sick. The rumor said she thought she saw a monster in Ax's suite. So he came with us.  
  
And while we were waiting for the call to come in, we were making conversation. Usually, when we need conversation, Marco is the one to come and through in a couple of corny jokes. But this time, Marco wasn't joking around. Or at least he wasn't.  
  
The rest of us actually thought it was pretty funny.  
  
Apparently Marco lied to this girl named Kristen about being American, which was only slightly stupid. I mean, come on, I know Marco gets into this drama act that he'll put on sometimes, but this was ridiculous.  
  
She found out he lied and confronted him about it. And we asked him what happened.  
  
You want to know how I got out of it? Easy. I suddenly had an uncontrollable urge to go to the bathroom. I left her at the breakfast room table. And that was that. I haven't seen her since.  
  
Has she stopped by your room? Cassie wanted to know.  
  
Nope. And I didn't go by hers, either.  
  
Marco, even for you, that's cold and heartless, Rachel wanted him to know.  
  
What? Not stopping by her room? Marco asked innocently.  
  
If Rachel had eyes at the moment, she would've rolled them. No, you moron. Leaving her at the table without telling her why you lied. Every person has a right to know the truth. If you get lied to and find out you were lied to, it hurts. But if you just say 'I'm sorry' or 'please forgive me I'll tell you the truth' that will take away most of the pain.  
  
Well, at least someone gives me a piece of advice that I can use. Oh! It's too late! he said, making a special emphasis on the words 'too late'.  
  
Chill, Marco. You too, Rachel. Although, Marco, you would've done better telling her you were a Frenchman I said. I was pleased with myself when everyone but Marco and Ax laughed at that.  
  
Or Irish Cassie said.  
  
I am completely confused by the point of this conversation, Ax interjected.  
  
Or Dutch Jake said. But by then everyone had pretty much stopped laughing.  
  
I said, Or Dut- oh never mind. No one laughs at my jokes anyway. Hey, those guys are saying something  
  
I listened.  
  
I heard some men talking, a clicking noise, and then quiet again. They headed for the door.  
  
Everybody, scatter! Jake said.  
  
We quickly took off in different directions. All of us ran off the door. What a stupid hiding place, I thought to myself. Just sitting there on the door like that. It's a miracle that they didn't see us and try to swat us. They left.  
  
And then it clicked.  
  
Oh man!  
  
Tobias? What? Rachel asked.  
  
They-They turned it off.  
  
They turned it off? Isn't it illegal or something to turn off-  
  
It's not illegal to turn off the wireless right now. They changed the law after the TITANIC sank.  
  
No one said anything for a minute.  
  
Tobias. Are you telling me that these guys didn't get the CALIFORNIAN's coordinates? Or did we just miss it talking about Marco?  
  
At least we missed it talking about something important, Marco muttered.  
  
No, we didn't miss it. I made a mistake. It's tomorrow they get the ice warning from the CALIFORNIAN, not today. I think, anyway.  
  
Silence.  
  
Oops? I offered.  
  
Oops? Big time oops, Tobias. Marco said, getting angry. I morphed a roach to listen in on an ice warning, because our resident TITANIC genus birdboy knows his stuff, and guess what? He's wrong!  
  
Hey, he made a mistake! Marco, you've made mistakes. What about suddenly being English without the accent to prove it-  
  
Rachel was defending me. That made me feel worse than I already felt.  
  
I was about to speak my piece when Jake interrupted.  
  
Marco. Rachel. Chill. Marco, it's not that big of a deal, so shut up. Rachel, you'll make it worse than it is. Tobias. Are you sure the ice warning is going to come in tomorrow? We really need those coordinates.  
  
Yeah. I'm sure. I replied miserably.  
  
Alright then. Let's go human. All of us, Ax and Tobias.  
  
We ducked into a random room and demorphed, and two of us remorphed. Afterwards, we headed to Rachel's room.  
  
"Alright, listen." Jake told everyone. "We made a mistake tonight. But it doesn't change the fact that the CALIFORNIAN coordinates are coming in tomorrow night. So we meet up same time we met up today. Same place. We morph roaches. And we listen in. Got it?"  
  
"Yes, sir!" Marco saluted.  
  
"Ah, just another day in the life of an Animorph," Rachel said gleefully.  
  
Ax looked disturbed. "Prince Jake, I understand these coordinates are important to the mission we now face for some unknown reason that I will not even attempt to ask for. But I must ask this question: Are we certain these coordinates to this ship will even be known? Cer-tahan? Cert-ain?"  
  
"Tobias said he was sure the TITANIC got an ice warning from the CALIFORNIAN, and this warning contained the coordinates." Cassie said.  
  
"Yeah, Ax. There's nothing to worry about. We get the coordinates tomorrow, we morph to birds and fly to where ever the ship is, we land, we demorph somehow, we survive. No prob." Rachel piped up.  
  
"Are you positive it is this simple? Do any of you know how to read the coordinates?" Ax wanted to know.  
  
Not even Marco had thought of this. Cassie looked at everyone. "Hey, I can't read them. But I'm sure," she paused as she looked around, " I'm sure that one of you guys do, right?"  
  
No one said anything.  
  
"Right?" she pressed.  
  
Again, no response.  
  
"Well, this is going well," Jake muttered.  
  
"I'll spend the day with one of the TITANIC wireless operators, and maybe learn how to-"  
  
"Rachel!" Marco hissed. "Bad idea!"  
  
"Why?" she wanted to know.  
  
"Because, you could change history! Just being on this ship changed history in a slight way!" Marco said.  
  
"Ugh. Time travel. Way too complicated. Can I demorph now?" I asked.  
  
"No one's stopping you," Jake said.  
  
So I demorphed. But as I demorphed, I thought.  
  
Changing history. Was is always a bad thing? After all, we were changing history by being on the TITANIC, and by doing this we were all alive again, if only for a short time. A short time which we hoped to make permanent, by exterminating the first Yeerk.  
  
And by killing the very first Yeerk, or first couple of Yeerks, the whole race of Yeerks wouldn't know about Earth. Which would save millions of lives. It would let us enjoy our youth, the youth we had lost by becoming the Animorphs. Rachel wouldn't have to kill Tom. Jake wouldn't have a controller brother. Marco wouldn't have a controller mother. Cassie wouldn't have to compromise her morals all the time. Ax wouldn't have lost his brother. I wouldn't have lost my father. My real father.  
  
It would save all the nameless human controllers we had killed, not to mention the years of slavery and torture in their own mind they had endured.  
  
And yet.something tore at me. Something was nagging at me. What? What was it?  
  
And then, I thought of it. It was so simple, all of us had missed it. Duh.  
  
By killing off the first Yeerk, Jake, Rachel, Marco, Cassie, and I wouldn't have met Elfangor at all. We wouldn't have been the Animorphs. No Yeerks, no Animorphs.  
  
And would it really have been for the better?  
  
Jake wouldn't have a controller brother, but he also wouldn't be the leader he was meant to be.  
  
Rachel wouldn't be killed, but she would not have found her own meaning of life, the fighting, the war.  
  
Marco wouldn't have lost his mother, but he wouldn't have grown closer with her, either. He wouldn't have appreciated his family like he does now. I guess, how we all do now.  
  
Cassie wouldn't have to debate with her morals, but it is also possible that she needed to debate with her morals. It's a possibility she needed to know whether she had them or not. And when the war came, she knew she had them.  
  
Ax wouldn't have come to Earth. He wouldn't have found five very important things: Cinnamon buns, Chocolate, TV's, taste and sounds. Not to mention Visser Three. He would still exist, and eventually, he and Elfangor would've come down to a battle. If Elfangor lost, Ax probably would die trying to take Visser Three down.  
  
And me? I would've gained absolutely nothing, and lost absolutely everything. I would've never become a hawk, which I'm still debating on whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. I would've never found out my father was an alien. I would've also been a dork, a dweeb even, for the rest of my middle and high school days, and probably grow up to be a nobody. A nothing. Not to mention I would never even know what Rachel and I had, what could've been.  
  
But that was just our personal lives. Humans suffered under the Yeerk loss. People suffered, people were enslaved, people were killed. If the Yeerks didn't come, none of that would have happened. Was there any harm in changing history, so humans wouldn't be enslaved?  
  
Yes. Yeerks had opened the door for mankind and aliens to meet. It had been about time, after all. Andalites and humans were quickly becoming equals, and we had advanced so far in so little time with the Andalites, so who knows what would have happened if the two races hadn't ever met?  
  
Not to mention there was always another Yeerk. We would've killed the first one. But maybe 20, 30 years? Another Yeerk might eventually find Earth, but this time there would be no chance to stop the Yeerks.  
  
No. We couldn't. We just couldn't kill the first Yeerk, no matter how much we wanted to. There was no way. This whole TITANIC thing...pointless.  
  
But would the others know that? Would I be able to convince them...before it was too late? 


	13. and Dreams of Death

Yeah, I reuploaded chapter 12 because I saw quite a few mistakes there. Now they're all corrected. (Nothing changed in the plot, just a few grammer mistakes, so if you've already ready it, there's no need to reread it.) K, here ya go!  
  
*********  
  
Chapter 13: Cassie  
  
So we went back to our rooms. Jake and Ax went back to third class. Marco and I went back to second. And Rachel and Tobias stayed where they were. Rachel took Tobias back to his room, since he was a hawk and didn't feel like remorphing back to human.  
  
It was late. But I didn't feel like sleeping.  
  
So instead I walked around outside, on the poop deck. Marco had already gone to sleep. I guess he got over his seasickness. That's when I caught some girl walking around outside Her long brown hair rustled in the wind, and her blue eyes seemed to be troubled. Not quite sad, but troubled.  
  
I approached her.  
  
"You can't sleep either?" I asked her, smiling.  
  
"I'm afraid not," she replied. Her blue eyes glazed over.  
  
"Is something bothering you?" I asked gently.  
  
"Not really.I've met this friend. And he and I have been doing things together-  
  
"You mean hanging out?"  
  
"Why would I hang him out?"  
  
"Never mind. Keep going."  
  
"-and I have found out he has lied to me. Just about one thing. But he really is an odd bird, so I've found myself wondering if he has lied to me about other things as well."  
  
Ah. This must be Kristen, I decided. Time to save Marco.  
  
"I doubt he would lie to you about other things. I think he maybe meant it as sort of a joke-you know?"  
  
"A joke? Lying is a joke?"  
  
"I'm American. If he's American as well, then yes, he meant it as a joke. Americans tend to joke around by lying to each other."  
  
"So it's just a culture difference?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Thank you! I've been so wrong to him!"  
  
I almost wanted to die laughing right there. I carefully masked my laughter with coughing. 'I've been so wrong to him!' was classic. I would tell the others later, after we got off the ship. They would get a good laugh out of it. She turned and told me goodbye, and slowly got up.  
  
And then tripped.  
  
She fell, face first on the deck.  
  
"Ouch!" She looked at me while she got up. "I'm very sorry, I'm rather clumsy-"  
  
"Hey, me too. Don't worry about it."  
  
She left.  
  
I smiled to myself as I got up and headed to my own room to go to sleep.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
It was the night. We had gotten the coordinates of the CALIFORNIAN.  
  
We were all ready to morph and get off the sinking ship.  
  
Except the screams. The cries. The shrieks of fear. We, the Animorphs, were ready to morph to birds and fly to the CALIFORNIAN. And leave these people to drown to their deaths.  
  
Suddenly, some guy roughly grabbed Rachel.  
  
"Young lady, I recognize you, you're first class. Get into the lifeboat!"  
  
"No! Mister, I'll get to a lifeboat later-" Rachel tried to argue.  
  
"You're refusal is unacceptable. You are young. Get into the boat!"  
  
He shoved Rachel in the boat. Rachel tried to jump out, but she ended up plunging into the icy waters below her.  
  
RACHEL! Tobias screamed. He flew down to meet her. She looked cold. She started to swim, but some other guy in the water jumped on her and used her to stay above water. I could see her thrashing, trying to get away, but this guy was big. Tobias scratched up the guy pretty bad, but the guy hit Tobias and sent him spiraling into the waters with Rachel. I didn't see him surface. I knew Tobias wouldn't last long, and neither would Rachel.  
  
I jumped in after them.  
  
"Cassie! Don't be an idiot!" Marco screamed. "Rachel and Tobias will morph!"  
  
I landed in the water.  
  
The ship hadn't even sank all the way yet, but I already was seeing dead bodies.  
  
I was so cold.  
  
Way too cold.  
  
"HELP ME!" I screamed in desperation.  
  
Help me.  
  
It's so cold.  
  
Where was Rachel?  
  
"Rachel! Tobias!"  
  
I didn't see either of them. And I heard the screams. The wails.  
  
"Gerald! Where are you sweetie? I'll find you-"  
  
"Mark! I love you-"  
  
"Sonia! Where are you, baby? Answer me. ANSWER ME! Please-"  
  
Too many screams.  
  
And I didn't find Rachel.  
  
I was scared. And I was cold.  
  
Where were Jake, Marco and Ax?  
  
Did they forget about us?  
  
Where were you, Rachel? Tobias?  
  
"Rachel! Tobias!" my chattering teeth managed to scream out into the night. However, my voice was drowned out by the other screams. The screams of agony. They would forever haunt my dreams.  
  
I tried to find them. I looked everywhere.  
  
I couldn't see them.  
  
Were they already dead?  
  
Hypothermia would set in after 20 minutes of this water.  
  
And then they would be dead.  
  
And it had already been 10 minutes.  
  
Please, oh dear God, please no. They can't be dead.  
  
I kept looking.  
  
I had been in the water for fifteen minutes.  
  
I couldn't see them.  
  
Then I saw a hawk's body.  
  
Tobias had been crushed to death.  
  
A female was holding him.  
  
Rachel had died, too. I couldn't tell the cause.  
  
Both dead.  
  
They died a violent death, not once, but twice now.  
  
Hadn't we been through enough?  
  
Rachel's body glowed as the moonlight hit her seemly frozen body.  
  
She was beautiful, even in death...  
  
I cried, but the tears seemed frozen on my cheeks.  
  
Hypothermia. It was setting in. It would be all over, right here. No more pain.  
  
Just let it end, Cassie.  
  
Just let it end...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
I awoke in my bed, with sweat pouring down my face. It was a nightmare. Rachel and Tobias hadn't died. But the dream had been so real... was that how it was going to be? In real life? Were the screams going to go away? Would they be better? Or ten times worse? Rachel and Tobias wouldn't die, of course. It was just in my dream. Or would they? My dreams had come true before. Why not now?  
  
Because I wouldn't let them, I told myself. I refuse to let them die like that.  
  
I tried to go back to sleep. I had guessed it was about 2:00am in the morning. But I couldn't. Something about a nightmare like that just scares you. You're afraid to go back to sleep, 'cause then you might dream the same dream. And that dream wasn't a normal dream. It was a dream of death.  
  
I finally fell back asleep.  
  
And then, I woke up again. Very suddenly.  
  
I walked outside on the poop deck, and realized it was daytime.  
  
I felt like I hadn't gotten any sleep at all, but I knew that wasn't true.  
  
I thought I should tell them about it. But instead, I walked back to my stateroom and got dressed. I should forget about dreams like that, and focus on more important issues.  
  
But the image of Rachel and Tobias's dead bodies would not go away...  
  
I finished dressing and headed down to breakfast. 


	14. A Little Further North, and Not as Far W...

Hey guys! Guess what? I UPDATED! How kewl is that? Hehehe.... So sorry, it's been a while, but I'm back on track, and will hopefully get this monster of a story finished! It's Rachel's turn to narrate....  
  
I'd better reintroduce myself, since lots of time has gone by. I'm Kimba, pen name krazygurl. I started this fic about a year ago, and kinda stopped when school and friends and colorguard and drawing got in the way. So now summer's here, and I get to write again! YAY!  
  
Animorphs is not mine, yadayadayada. Oh, and if I get my facts confused, please point them out to me and I'll try not to make the same mistake twice. It's been a while since I've read the Animorph books or the TITANIC fact books that I own. The last chapter was a little bit creepy, and it will prolly get creepier until the sinking, because this is a very serious issue that is not to be taken lightly. Many ppl died that day, and I'm trying my best to write the horror they may have felt.  
  
Now on with the story!  
  
PS: Rachel9466, that was a deliberate steal from the Andalite Chronicles. Glad to see someone noticed. ;-) Thank you Lost Soul, LiLLy*PoTTer, heartsyhawk, Angelofcloud9, Darth Avengel, Rachel9466, Strawberry Bunny, jasminegurl, Jinako-chan, buffymorpher2000, Zaron of the Red Moon, Twisted Fate, CYBER HAWK, Rachel, Alikat, Gwendalyn, Glittering Pegasus, The Outcast Ryter, S.H. Reality Traveler, and everyone else who reviewed. I sincerely appreciate all of your comments, and thank you for taking the time to review. Your comments and helpful criticism very much help this huge story. I hang on every word, so thank you very much!  
  
***************************************  
  
CHAPTER 14: Rachel  
  
TIME: 10:00am  
  
ELEVEN HOURS AND FORTY MINUTES UNTIL ICEBERG  
  
Well, here it was. April 14th, 1912. Doomsday. Evil, terrible, sinking day. I woke up in my beautiful suite around 8:00am Maid service came and asked when they could clean the cabin, would I need any help dressing, ect. ect. Went back to sleep, and slept 'till 10:00am. Tobias was in first class, a few doors down. He was coming over in a few minutes. I went ahead and got dressed.  
  
Funny, it didn't feel like evil-terrible-sinking-day.  
  
Since today was Sunday, they held a church service in first class. Maybe they held one for the other classes. I wouldn't know, now would I? Anyway, I didn't go. I needed to plan. And think. I had a terrible decision to make. And, at the moment, only Tobias could help me. Arriving earlier than I thought he would've, he was the only one here for me, right now, at this very moment. So I looked at him. Stared deep into his for- now-human-eyes, and asked:  
  
"Do regular shoes go with this dress? Or high heels? 'Cause, I need to match, and since I didn't really know about the whole second closet thing and I didn't know about the dresses that were in it... Should I even wear this dress? Or is it way to puffy? Oohh, wait, I need to morph later, so I would tear it anyway. Thanks for reminding me..."  
  
Tobias stared, emotionless, as usual, but his head was kinda tilted, in a 'What?' expression.  
  
I ran into a dressing room-slash-closet looking room and closed the door. "Tobias, stay where you are! I'll be right back, just let me change!"  
  
I heard a muffled response that kinda sounded like an oookkkkkaaaayyyy. You know, the really, really, really stretched out kind that friends give you when they think you've gone crazy?  
  
This was really important to me, though. I mean, the whole outfit thing. See, if I thought about my outfit, then I wouldn't think about the upcoming horror that was to be. Like I said earlier: evil, terrible, sinking day.  
  
Not to mention I was going to get Jake a little angry with me.  
  
Hey, someone needed to learn how to read coordinates. So I was gonna hang with the wireless operators, whether he wanted me to or not. I figured, I could do whatever I wanted to right now. I might change the past or the future or history or whatever, but we, the six of us, we made history. It didn't give us the right to change it, but I didn't care. Too many people were worried about changing it. I was prepared to do whatever it took to live. I was no way going to die again.  
  
I faced the dress. Its sleek sleeves were puffed out, like huge balloons, but with holes for arms. It was like a tent that I could almost live in. I decided, against my much better judgment, to go ahead and wear it. The skin-tight leotard was on, the dress would be ruined, but really, did it matter?  
  
I came out. Leaning against the wall was Tobias, who had his eyes closed like he was so bored he was about to go to sleep. I threw one of those lacey pillows from the bed at him. He woke with a start.  
  
"Good, you're out. You look fine, don't ask. Listen, I have something really important to tell you about this whole TITANIC mission that I think you'll, um, explode over..." he trailed off, deep in thought.  
  
"That would be...." I sat down, which was really difficult in my wonderfully frilly dress that I loathed. I was actually very happy that I would ruin it, because-  
  
"Pointless. The whole thing is pointless." He interrupted my thoughts. "We kill the first Yeerk, another one will just pop up. They're like mosquitoes in Louisiana, or tourists in New York and Florida: You kill one, twenty more pop up. Except you don't kill tourists... Oh, and don't forget humans being very primitive before the Andalites. What happens if humans and Andalites never meet? We won't be fighting... does this mean humans don't stand a chance when the other first Yeerk comes? Does this mean we'll be Yeerk slaves? Rachel, nothing here is right! This is stupid... I wish this had never happened! It's all pointless!"  
  
He looked toward me, trying to read me. I kept my face blank.  
  
"Tobias...how can you say it's pointless? I'm alive! I'M ALIVE! Is this pointless? Am I pointless to you?" I stood, not caring whether I ripped my dress up to shreds or not. I walked over toward the cabin door. "Tobais, we have chances. Yes, we screw them up very badly sometimes. But that's what second chances are for! We have this golden, second chance... do you want to throw it all away? You died... and maybe killing this first Yeerk isn't the answer. Maybe I'll have to die all over again. Maybe you're right."  
  
I took a deep breath.  
  
"But, if you say the whole thing is pointless..."  
  
I opened the cabin door.  
  
"Then walk out. Right now. Because I won't stand for it. You're saying our lives are nothing. I'm very tired of trying to boost your self-esteem up. You had a hard life. You had it tougher than any of us. I don't pity you, because you don't want me to. I know that."  
  
He smiled, a little smile. Just a little one.  
  
"But this is now. Let's live in it, already!"  
  
We were silent, for a while.  
  
An elderly guy, all dressed up, entered my suite. Tobias and I glared at him. He asked me, in an English voice, "Excuse me, Miss. Do you want to go in or come out? Because, room service is ready, and you're just holding the door open..."  
  
Tobias stood up. "We're leaving." He took my arm and led me out. Room service looked at us funny and entered my room to clean it or something.  
  
As we walked, Tobias whispered, "You feel better?"  
  
I nodded. "A little. I know what you meant. But what are we going to do about it?" Tobais smiled a sad smile. "Are you prepared to... are WE prepared to die again?"  
  
"Are we ever?"  
  
**************************  
  
TIME: 1:40  
  
TEN HOURS UNTIL ICEBERG  
  
"Are you ready for this?" Tobias asked me.  
  
We had missed breakfast. I wondered if any of our fellow Animorphs had missed breakfast. I couldn't see Marco going without eating, or Jake, or maybe even Ax, just 'cause they're men. Sort-of. Actually, Ax might pass up breakfast if it was something he didn't like. Luckly, Tobias simply asked for some food to be delivered, and ta-da, food was there. So we ate the snack food.  
  
Now, we were walking around, watching a wireless operator. The trick was to get him to let me find out how to read stupid coordinates. All I could do was turn on my charming personality, and seriously suck up to him. Hey, it's worked in the past. I couldn't think of any moments right now, but I'm sure that it has.  
  
"Please. This is a walk in the park. On a ship." I responded to Tobias's remark.  
  
Tobias rolled his eyes. He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, and then pushed me hard into one of the wireless operators walking past me.  
  
I fell onto him and pushed him down with me. Tobias hurried away, winking at me.  
  
The very first thing I noticed was that he was very young. Not kid or teenager young, but he had a young adult look to him, like he was in his early 20's. Later, I would find he was actually 22, so my guess was right on the money. Go me.  
  
"I am SO sorry about this," I squealed in a girly voice. I tried to blush, just for effects. "I'm very clumsy, you see..."  
  
I did my best to play a girl of this time period, but this was killing me. Puh-lease.  
  
"Actually, I'm not very clumsy at all. I tripped over this guy's foot, and trust me, he had a huge foot. My name's Rachel..."  
  
"And I am Harold Bride. No need to apologize, ma'am. If you'll excuse me, I do need to be off..."  
  
This was not going well.  
  
"Hey, aren't you one of the wireless operators? I love you guys! I've always been interested in your field of work! Could you possibly give me a few pointers? See, I'm trying to learn how to operate those things..."  
  
"I apologize, but you see, I am very tired. I am of no use of teaching anyone anything at the moment, I'm afraid. The wireless broke down last night, and it took my partner and I seven long hours to fix it. As you can imagine, I haven't gotten much sleep as of late."  
  
He did look really tired.  
  
He started to pick up an old paper that I had caused him to drop. I fixed my eyes on this piece of paper, and then looked intently up at him in a questioning way.  
  
"I'm actually delivering a, well, message, I suppose, to Captain Smith himself" he said, noticing my extremely nosey glances.  
  
"Inquiring minds would like to know, kind sir, what this message is exactly," I prodded. If I would have come across someone like me, I would have at least told them to get out of my face.  
  
"This information is confidential. Only the captain will read this, now if you'll excuse me..."  
  
While walking away, I ran up to him and asked, "Is it an ice warning?"  
  
Mr. Bride then proceeded to gawk. I got just a little pleasure. "From the Baltic. How on earth could you have guessed?"  
  
"Weather can't be this perfect, now can it? The seas are way to calm... I just don't believe in perfection. Ice is the only thing I can think of that might cause a problem for us, and apparently, I'm correct. So... how bad is it?"  
  
"You are a very bright child. However, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it's not serious. Not serious enough to cause a problem for us on our lovely voyage. Have a wonderful day."  
  
Try to keep a happy face on, Rachel. Just flash your smile and try to charm your way into the wireless room...  
  
"Well, that's fantastically great news... when's your next shift?" I practically shrieked. People turned to stare, and he returned rather quickly.  
  
"To tell you the truth, I'm on one right now, and my next one is around 2:00 in the morning... you look like a nice girl. Tell you what- I'll show you some pointers in the wireless room, if you would like- but you'd have to let me deliver my message to Captain Smith." He grinned.  
  
Point, shoot, and score. Bingo.  
  
"Thank you so much. I would be honored if such a professional as yourself would show me-  
  
"No need for flattery, ma'am. You've gotten what you wanted. Wait here." He winked and was off.  
  
Harold Bride was a very smart cookie, I decided.  
  
I stood and waited. The clear blue sea was alarmingly quiet. The soft wind tussled the waves in toward the boat, and the gentle sea breeze was only slightly strong, just enough so that it might be a little bit chilly. I took a moment to take in the view, and although I didn't have a great one from where I was standing, it was still breath-taking.  
  
First-Class was not cheap, as I must've mentioned before. I heard the private suites cost (in today's money) a grand total of 4,350 for a private suite, like I had. The suite was grand. It screamed 'elegant!' everywhere I looked. It definitely-  
  
Harold Bride returned, interrupting my thoughts. "Are you ready, miss? What exactly would you like pointers in? There are many different things-  
  
"Coordinates. Could you please show me how to read them? I find that I am very interested in this sort of topic, and I'd love to learn how to interrupt them."  
  
He smiled. "Of course. Just follow me."  
  
***************************************  
  
TIME: 7:30  
  
FOUR HOURS AND TEN MINUTES UNTIL ICEBERG  
  
Now, I was just wasting time. I had learned nothing at all about coordinates by this time, but was hoping against all odds that somehow, I could make use of the knowledge I was receiving. However, I tried to learn all about the CALIFORNIAN as possible:  
  
The CALIFORNIAN was stopped, because she was surrounded by ice. Better for us.  
  
Her captain was Stanley Lord, whom would sleep through most of the TITANIC tragedy, as I recall. Tobias had said they we were only...17 or 19 miles away from the CALIFORNIAN.  
  
But for now, what else was I do to? I had overshot my time by, well, a lot. The Californian ice warnings weren't in. Various other warnings, but no Californian warnings.  
  
Finally! Three CALIFORNIAN ice warnings, stating coordinates!  
  
42º 5'N and 50º 7'W.  
  
I looked at these with interest, however, I knew I could do nothing with them. I was beyond despair.  
  
The TITANIC coordinates were definitely estimated. I had asked them to estimate the coordinates if the time was 2:00am. They came up with 41'46 N and 50'14 W.  
  
If that was true, then all I knew was that they were a little further north than we were and not as far west. I grabbed a pen sitting on his desk and proceeded to write this information down on my hand.  
  
Bride looked at me hard. "If you wanted to know more about coordinates, you could probably get Captain Smith or First Officer Murdoch or even Second Officer Lightoller to help you. You know, we aren't the ones steering the ship..."  
  
"It's alright, I'm learning a lot from you and Mr. Phillips" I said. Bride smiled at me. Then he turned to Phillips.  
  
"Jack, three warnings from the Californian. Do you-" and at this point he yawned. He could barely keep his eyes open, poor guy.  
  
I actually found the guy very interesting. Harold Bride had wanted to become a wireless operator from a very young age, which was cool, because he was living his dream. Appearing very shy at first, I was shocked to see him open up quite a bit to Jack Phillips, the other wireless operator. He had a great sense of humor for a guy in this time period. Usually, I didn't really get most of the dinner table jokes, 'cause I had no idea what half those words meant, but Bride could somehow make it make sense.  
  
Phillips noticed how exhausted Bride was. Phillips was the senior operator and was probably used to being this tired, but it was clear that Bride was extremely tired.  
  
"Harold, why don't you take a break? Go ahead and get some sleep- I'll wake you up when your next shift starts."  
  
Bride practically glowed. "Will do, Jack. Thanks, buddy." He turned to me.  
  
"Miss Rachel, I think it's about time you went ahead to your cabin. I'll show you more tomorrow, if you'd like."  
  
"Thank you very much, Mr. Bride. Good night, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Bride."  
  
I left them and shut the door behind me. I tried not to think about what would happen to them. I didn't know who would live or die. I didn't want to know. All I knew was I was no closer to finding the CALIFORNIAN, and we had run out of time.  
  
It was a little further north, and not as far west. Helpful, Rachel. But it was all we had.  
  
Tobias had said the TITANIC would sink around 2:00am, and it was around 6:30 to 7:00, so we would morph as late as we possibly could. I so did not want to have to demorph on an iceberg.  
  
I went to my cabin/suite and wondered if I should get some sleep, but then I thought about visiting Tobias first.  
  
I left and walked the short walk over to Tobias's. It was gonna be hard to face him, since he helped me out on getting to the operators. I took a deep breath. And I knocked.  
  
And knocked.  
  
And knocked.  
  
And knocked.  
  
And knocked...  
  
**************************************  
  
Hey guys! Thanks for reading! Oh, BTW, wanted to clear something up:  
  
The coordinates are as true as my sources, so PLZ tell me if something's wrong with them! I'm trying desperately to get all my facts straight, because I'm a major TITANIC & Animorph fan, so, ya know...  
  
And, um, what else... oh, yeah. I know, Rachel prolly wouldn't have been able to spend that long of a time period with the wireless operators, but I goofed early in the story by overshooting the time (and I'm blaming it on Rachel in the story... bad Kimba! Bad Kimba!) So I'm really sorry for that! It's an unreasonable amount of time, but I had it all almost written out before I caught my mistake...  
  
And I attempted italics. I really don't think it will work, and I've been to scared to try it because I'm on Mircosoft Word (not the HTML version) so, maybe it will come out, maybe it won't, we shall see! Hehehehe....  
  
Peace out, Read, Review, and is anybody out fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer? I can't believe it ended!  
  
Thanks! -Kimba 


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